Thermal insulation



F. BIEDERMAN THERMAL INSULATION Dec. 14, 1937.

Original Filed May 16, 1932 Zig/@Ww amazes TERAIL HNSUILTHN Frank It. -Biedermann, Chicago, Hill., assignorto llaper Patents Company, Neenah, Wis.,L a corporation oi Wisconsin application May is, iosa, seriali No. 611,623

newed November 2, 1935 8 Claims.

This invention relates to thermal insulation such as may be used in refrigerators.

The main objects ofthe invention are to provide thermal insulation material of high efllciency but low cost; to provide thermal insulation in unit or cell form which will be convenient to manufacture, handle and install; and in gen eral, it is the object of the invention to provide an improved thermal insulation of the kind referred to. 1

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood by reference to the following specification and accompanying drawingfin which a unit of thermal insulation embodying a preferred form of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawingzf Fig. l is a perspective,

Figs. 2 and 3 are sections on the lines --t and iii-d respectively, oi Fig. l.,

Fig. i is a section similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating a modified construction,

Fig. v5 is afragmentary side elevation of still another modiiication, and

Fig. d is a section on the line t-t of Fig. 5.

Referring now" to the drawing, and more particulariy to Figs. l., 2 and 3, the thermal insulaii and it and side walls id and it. The walls are bent to form a rectangular tube and at one corner, the adjacent walls, in this instance the walls i2 and it, are joined `through the agency of a lip or hap' i'd formed integral with the 'side wall i3, the lip or -ap it being adhesively or otherwise secured to the adjacent marginal portion of the wail it.

lli'he body i@ of cellulosic material and the tubular casing, are further enclosed in a wrapper it of paper or other suitable material which is preferably oi' an inherently water-proof nature or specially treated so as to be impervious to moisture.

The wrapper it is first wrapped around the tubular container and is of such a size that marginal portions as indicated at ill will overlap on the back Wall of the casing intermediate its width. The overlapping marginal `portions of the wrapper are united to each other by suitable moisture-proof adhesive material, for example, asphaltum, which will effectively seal the joint between the wrapper margins to prevent the penetration of moisture through the joint. It is also preferred to seal the portions of the wrapper (ci. isi-ai) The Wrapper is preferably of such a length that after the joint ill has been formed, the wrapper will be in the form of a tube of greater length than the body iii and tubular casing so that end portions of the wrapper will project beyond the said body and casing. Such projecting end portions of the tubular wrapper may then be folded over in any approved manner and be sealed to form an impervious end enclosure. In the present instance, it is contemplated that the end closure will be formed by first folding over the projecting end portions It of the wrapper portion covering the front wall portion ill of the tubular casing', thereafter folding the opposite side wall Wrapper portions i@ and 2i) inwardly over the portion it and then completing the end enclosure by folding the opposite side Wall portion 2i over the portions id, it, and it. Between each overlapping end fold, a coating of adhesive material such as asphaltum. is applied to form an impervious joint between the respective folds, and it is preferred to additionally apply a coating of the adhesive material over the exposed joints at the ends as indicated at 22 in Figs. 1 and 2. A similar exterior coating of adhesive material may be applied to the joint li as indicated at 2i in l Fig. 3.

The body or packing i@ of cellulose material is'preferably in the form of an assembly of relatively superposed sheets of crepe paper oi a thin, cobwebby nature. A block of such superposed crepe paper sheets encloses an immense number of small air spaces or cells between the sheets, and such air spaces and the skin resistance of the sheets constitute a highly emcient insulator.

lin addition to protecting the tubular cardboard casing and the enclosed insulating material from moisture by means of the water-proofed wrapper it, the casing and the assembly cellulose shcets may also be treated in the process of manufacturing the raw material from which vcellulose sheets within the container or casing.

For example, the assembly of cellulose sheets .A

forming the body iii may be adhesively secured at their top ends to the inside of the end wall portion it through the agency of a coating of silicate of soda (Water glass) or other suitable adhesive material, such as indicated at 2d. When the sheets are thus secured to' the top end of the casing, the sheets are, in effect, suspended therefrom and hence can not settle Within the casing to leave a void -in the upper end of the casing. Since the weight of the respective sheets is but lili 'dit

a fraction of an ounce, no dimculty is experienced in producing an effective suspension of the sheets as described. If desired to more anchor the sheets in place, water glass or like adhesive material may be applied between the ends or edges of the sheets entirely around the and the adjacent inside walls of the casing, and such adhesive material may also be applied as indicated at 25 between the outermost sheets of the body l and the front and back walls il and i2 of the casing. Adhesive material such as water glass is preferred for the purpose described for the reason that it is odorless and contains no material conducive to the growth of fungi.

In Fig. 4, an insulation panel embodying generally the same construction as that above described in connection with Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive is shown but in different form. The edges of thel unit are shown beveled to fit into a refrigerator door or like space. Also, in this modification, the ends of the cellulose sheets lll are adhesively united to a cardboard or like end wall dit which is provided as an integral part of the inner casing member instead of to the end wall portion lli of the outer wrapper as in Fig. 2, The sheets it are preferably adhesively secured at both ends to the respective ends of the casing so that the panel may be inserted into place with either end up, thereby avoiding the necessity for special care in positioning the unit. It is, of course, to be understood that panels for refrigerators are more often of an elongated rectangular form so that the panel can not be inserted with an unsecured edge of the sheets uppermost.` Itis also preferred that the joint il of the wrapper be positioned on the outside of the unit so as to be away from the coldest side.

As shown ln Figs. 5 and 6, the body it may be anchored relative to the casing by means of stitches il which extend through the panel at spaced points. A single row of such stitches mayV be provided adjacent the top end of the panel, or several such rows may be provided near the top end, and if desired, such stitches may be extended through the panel at spaced points throughout its entire area. When stitching is used for anchoring purposes, it is preferable that the impervious wrapper if used be applied after the stitching is completed so as to eifectively cover up the small openings formed in the casing` incident to the stitching operation.

The described unit construction is preferably designed so that its outside dimension will correspond to the outside dimension of the space in which the unit is to t so that the insulation panel will t snugly in the space and eectively avoid the leaving of small air spaces which would constitute leaks. By reason of the inherent compressibillty of the described construction, the panel may easily be made to fit very snugly in its receiving space. The outside impervious wrapper if used may conveniently be formed of paper treated with asphalt which renders it quite suitable to the indicated purpose.

Changes in the described construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which should be determined by reference to the following claims, the same being construed as broadly as possible, consistent with the state of the art.

arcanes I claim as my inventionzl. A thermal insulating unit comprising an assembly of superposed creped tissue paper sheets which are of -such thinness as to be not self-811D- porting, and a casing enclosing the assembly, the sheets being suspended edgewise from the top wall of the casing.

2. A thermal insulating unit comprising a casing, and an assembly of superposed creped tissue paper sheets forming a pad Within the casing, an edge portion of the assembhi being adhesively secured to the inner side of the casing.

3. A thermal insulating unit comprising a casing, and an assembly of superposed creped tissue paper sheets forming a pad within the casing, and peripheral edges of the assembly being adhesively secured to inner walls of the casing.

4. A. thermal insulating unit comprising a casing, and an assembly of superposed creped tissue paper sheets forming a pad within the casing, the outermost sheets having their outer surfaces adhesively secured to the respective adjacent inner sides of the casing, and the peripheral edges of the assembly being adhesively secured to adjacent inner sides of the casing..

5. Thermal insulation comprising a soft and flexible bat formed of a multiplicity of superposed sheets of very thin, cobwebby, creped tissue paper, the bat embodying. a multiplicity of small irregularly shaped and irregularly arranged cells formed by the creping and openings in the sheets, said cells constituting dead air cells and being separated by the slight thickness of the tissue paper, the bat being of very light weight consider-- ing its bull: and having a low thermal conducting capacity incident to its enclosure of dead air cells and the inherently low conductivity of such thin, cobwebby paper.

6. An insulating bat according to claim 5 and provided with a relatively stiff protective covering means around at least a portion of the edges thereof. f

7. Thermal insulation comprising al soft and dexible bat which is generally rectangular in cross section and which comprises a multiplicity of super-posed, relatively ilat sheets of very thin, cobwebby, creped, cellulosic tissue, the bat embodying a. multiplicity of small, irregularly shaped and irregularly arranged cells formed by the creping and openings in the sheets, said cells constituting dead air cells and being separated by the slight thickness of the sheets, the bat being of very light weight considering its bull: and having a low thermal conducting capacity incident to its enclosure ofdead air cells and the inherent low conductivity of said thin cobwebby sheets, and a relatively stiff protective covering or edging for said bat, the adjacent edges of said sheets being adhesively attached to the said protective covering or edging.

8. A thermal insulating unity comprising a relatively sti supporting means Vformed of sheet cellulosic material, and a multiplicity of superposed, relatively Hat sheem of very thin, cobwebby, creped, cellulosic tissue which are of'such thinness as to be not self supporting, and means for anchoring said sheets to said relatively stiff supporting means in order that said thin sheets shall be supported thereby during use of said unit.

FRANK A. BIEDERMAN. 

